1975, the BMW CSL, and the 12 Hours of Sebring all symbolize the simultaneous startups of a BMW national sales company and BMW Motorsport in North America. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, BMW of North America displays the IMSA-winning car BMW 3.0 CSL at the 2015 New York Auto Show.
The CSL was built for BMW by Karmann between 1968 and 1975. The car was a svelte 2400lbs with 3.2-liter (340 hp/253 kW) and 3.5-liter (430 PS) engines and aerodynamics that dubbed the CSL as the “Batmobile”, but it also established BMW as a premier racing team.
In 1973, Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship in a 3.0CSL and co-drove a 3.0CSL with Dieter Quester to a class victory at Le Mans. Hezemans and Quester had driven to second place at the 1973 German Touring Car Grand Prix at Nürburgring, being beaten only by Chris Amon and Hans-Joachim Stuck in another 3.0 CSL.
This final version of the 3.0CSL was homologated in July 1973 along with an aerodynamic package including a large air dam, short fins running along the front fenders, a spoiler above and behind the trailing edge of the roof, and a tall rear wing. The rear wings were not installed at the factory, but were left in the boot for installation after purchase.
Here is a photo gallery of the racing car:
